Dry

Other

Butter, about 1⁄2 stick(a.k.a. 2 oz. / 4 tbsp; anyhow, the exact amount isn’t critical, as you’ll just be brushing the blini with it as they come out)

Instructions

Preparation, part I

Measure out the wet and dry ingredients.

Start some water boiling (more than a cup, since some will boil away).

Melt the 1⁄2 stick butter; when it’s melted, pour it out into the small glass ingredient bowl.

Pre-mix ingredients

In the medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: the 11⁄3 cup flour, the 3 tbsp sugar, and the 1⁄4 tsp salt.

In the small bowl, mix the wet ingredients:

Lightly whisk the 2 large eggs.

Whisk in the 1⁄2 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk in the 1 cup whole milk.

Whisk in the 1 cup boiling water.

Whisk in the 1⁄4 cup cooking oil.

Let the dry and wet ingredients stand, separately, while you do the next part.

Preparation, part II

Set griddle on burner, on medium heat, to heat up. With a paper towel (being careful not to burn yourself), apply a coat of cooking oil to the pan.(You don’t want oil to pool in the pan; you just want the surface to be slick with a thin layer of oil.)

Lay a sheet on aluminum foil on the counter, or on a cutting board. Coat one side of the foil with a teaspoonful of melted butter.

Combine the wet & dry ingredients:

Slowly, a few tablespoons at a time, add the wet mixture to the dry mixture; thoroughly whisk after each addition(If you add everything at once, there will be lumps)

Keep adding and whisking in, making sure the wet ingredients are integrated thoroughly, and there are no lumps

Making the blini

Once the griddle has heated up, pour an almost-full ladle’s worth of batter onto the griddle; tilt the griddle this way and that as you pour, so that the batter coats the surface evenly.